SM/YGO AU Crossover. Princess Serenity always believed Earth to be a planet full of various beautiful kingdoms and enchanting things to discover. When she gets a sudden and unexpected chance to visit, what she finds (and gains) is far beyond what she could ever expect. Atem/Serenity

Disclaimer: YGO and Sailor Moon belong to their respective owners, yadda yadda yadda. Y'all know the drill by now. Also, I use original Egyptian names when and where I can.

A/N: HOLY LONG ABSENCE BATMAN! Life has seriously been a challenge the past year and so, filled with long writing dry spells. Even getting this chapter going has been a bit of a challenge but here I am, determined to finish this. I'm going to continue working hard on this and get it done. There are tons of bits of future scenes that need to be put into chapters. More is coming! Hope you enjoy, I kind of enjoyed creating some culture for the Moon Kingdom, since we don't get a lot of it.

Serenity was glad for the typical routine of her day for the first time that she could recall. The dream last night kept coming back to her so frequently that she was just going through the motions throughout the entire day. Had there been anything out of the ordinary she never would have been able to focus on it. At least no one seemed to notice, she hoped.

When it came time for bed Serenity took her time getting ready, and when there was nothing left to do she reluctantly climbed into bed but didn't lie down. She felt nervous, again with a growing uncertainty that had begun this morning. The more time she had away from the dreams and the king that tempted her so the more time she had to think. Everything about this was making her more and more uneasy. Growing up she had never met anyone beyond her mother who ever shared much if at all interest in Earth, everyone knew it was a place where darkness could thrive. Her mother had even been criticized more than once for entertaining Earth guests like Dartz despite their noble reputations. What if this vision Atem spoke of saw her getting involved in something terrible, or something that would end up reflecting poorly on her? He wouldn't tell her what the vision was about - wouldn't he have done so if it wasn't bad? And that brought her to Atem himself. He was exceedingly handsome, self confident, proud and sure of himself - and far more forward than she knew how to respond to. No doubt he wanted something from her, according to Rei that was typical of Earth men (how she knew was always a mystery to Serenity; the kingdom of Mars never entertained a guest from Earth). She needed to put a stop to this. If only she knew how.

Serenity felt her eyes droop before long and tried to shake herself out of it. Maybe if she didn't sleep tonight, it would be enough to stop all of this. It made enough sense to her tired brain that she kept trying to shake herself before sleep overtook her but it was a losing battle and despite her efforts she fell asleep. When she opened her eyes she found herself in the same room as the night before.

This wasn't good at all.

"I have to find a way to leave." she said to the empty room. She didn't feel a presence here, perhaps if she could concentrate enough she could wake up before she was no longer alone.

"Leaving so soon?"

She yelped and whipped around to where Atem had suddenly appeared a little too close behind her. His grin widened.

"Did I startle you Princess?"

"Well, yes. No one was here a moment ago."

"You sound so certain."

Serenity took an unconscious step back from him. "You're teasing again."

"I mean nothing by it, I promise."

She didn't look convinced. "I think you do. You want something from me, don't you?"

He tilted his head. "And what if I did?"

She stepped back a few more paces. "I cannot give it, whatever it is. You have to stop all of this."

His smile faded and it made her worry. Her mother may have assured her of her own power, but she felt nothing but powerless right now. And he was regarding her with a look she couldn't quite decipher.

"I've frightened you somehow. What can I do to change that?"

"I…I don't know…"

"Surely there must be something." he said. "I have been very much looking forward to your visit. If you have fears, I would put them to rest and ease your mind. I know your people are not terribly fond of us here on this world, but I promise I mean you no harm."

His words gave Serenity pause. His demeanor had completely changed and by all accounts seemed sincere and apologetic. Had she misjudged him?

"Princess, I understand how strange this must all seem to you." Atem went on, taking a couple of tentative steps toward her. "I am a creature of impulse and unconventional means. I thought this method would allow us to get acquainted in a more relaxed setting - after all, we could be anywhere we wished. I could show you the Iteru, or the great pyramids. I could even show you other places in the world. Anything I desire - or you desire."

She regarded him a long moment, letting his words sink in. Maybe she had misunderstood his intentions and overreacted out of ignorance. This was a convenient way to meet albeit unconventional as he said but if she were honest it wasn't entirely terrible. Serenity relaxed, though she was still curious about the vision she felt a little more comfortable again in his presence.

"I wouldn't know where to start. There are so many places I've always wanted to see…"

"We could begin with the curtain behind you there. Do you wish to see what is beyond it?"

Serenity looked behind her. "What would I see?"

"Come and I will show you." he said, walking toward then past her. Bare feet barely made a sound on the floor as he walked up the four steps toward the curtain. Serenity was not far behind.

"Does this all exist in your home, not just whatever is behind the curtain?"

He nodded. "Yes. This is one of many that are for my own personal use, I seldom allow anyone else here. But it does have an impeccable view of my home." He grabbed a hold of the thick golden curtains and beckoned her with his hand. "Come and look upon Waset."

Atem threw aside the curtain and a world spread out before her. She stepped out onto the balcony, eyes wide with wonder. Palace grounds spread out before her, golden much like the room she had just walked out of. There was a sprawling garden below and out before them, a giant rectangular pond its focal. Wide paths ran along either side of it through a mix of greenery and flowers unlike anything at home. In the pond itself were more plants and large clusters of pink flowers each on a large dark green leaf floated on the water's surface. The large buds were closed, but from what she could see they must have been very large. Among the buildings and walls she could see statues of varying creatures and beings, and some that looked like a strange mix of both with human bodies and non-human heads. Mostly gold coloured as well, some had inlays of colour on their clothing. Above the arches she could see the same carving of a large bird with an impossibly large wingspan stretched out the length of the arch it was carved on, and some of its feathers had been coloured blue. Scattered about in plenty were braziers of all sizes all fully lit leaving not an inch of the grounds in darkness or shadow. Earth didn't seem to share the natural luminescence she was accustomed to on the Moon, where although the sky was constantly dark aside from the stars and the other planets when they came into view lamps were only ever needed indoors. Looking up the dark sky and blanket of stars were no less beautiful but there was something different about this view compared to home. Was it the distance, or was Earth truly so different?

Atem watched her take in the sight with a satisfied expression. Her demeanor tonight had been unexpected and he couldn't afford to lose any progress he had made. Especially after how well last night's visit had gone. Perhaps it had been too much too soon. He would have to tread carefully in the future but for now he could rest easy that plans seemed for the moment still on track.

"So what do you think?" he asked her.

"It's so unlike anything I have ever seen." she turned to him and there was a smile on her face. It quite pleased him.

"Wait until you see it in the daylight. Waset is truly a gem then."

She looked back to the sky. "Does the sky change then too?"

"Does it not on the moon?"

"No. We can see the sun from the Moon but it's so far away. The sky doesn't change back home."

"A pity. I think you will like sunlight."

They stood in companionable silence for some time, Serenity looking out over the palace and Atem looking at her. She had a beautiful profile enhanced by the way her body angled when she leaned just so against the balcony edge. Soft delicate features, pale skin like ivory and such long golden hair. It took every ounce of self-control not to reach out and run his fingers through it. Soon enough, he reminded himself. Her eyes were the most striking feature, the colour of lapis that his people prized so much, wide and innocent. And that golden crescent birthmark on her forehead. How could he have never known such a beautiful creature existed. And with such power; he was surprised she could be so easily afraid of him when she had enough power to defend herself from him. Either she was not aware of it or had no idea how to use it. Was this another reason Endymion had been to the Moon Kingdom, why he had decided to court the princess? Was he thinking of trying to use her against him? It was unlikely such a plan could ever work but still the thought of it displeased him.

"Atem?"

Her voice shook him out of his thoughts and drew his focus back to her. The wonderful smile and awe was gone from her face and replaced with one of concern. "What is it?"

"You look troubled."

"It is nothing." he assured her. "Just some matters I will have to deal with later. Nothing serious."

Her expression didn't change. "I wanted to ask you…about the vision…"

That again. He almost wished he had told her something else but it was too late for that now. Instead he smiled, intending to make light of it.

"There is very little to tell, Princess. The vision was not more than a moment in time, I could not hope to tell you what proceeded or when it would happen, if it were to happen at all. As skilled as my priestess is who received the vision even she cannot assure me of the future."

"I just don't understand why I would appear in a vision to someone on Earth."

"If you were to ask Isis she would tell you that visions are mysterious gifts from the gods, and who can know the mind of such beings."

"Is she right?"

He shrugged. "Who can say. Some things are beyond even the oldest of Earth's Immortals, and all you can do is accept them for what they are. But I can promise that you have nothing to worry by it."

"Nothing terrible happens?" she asked, to which he shook his head.

"Nothing at all."

That seemed to assure her, and she smiled again. She looked back to the palace and was quiet a moment.

"I can't wait to see this place in the daylight."

"Six more days." he said.

"Six more days." she agreed.

Serenity awoke the next morning still smiling. Seeing even just that small bit of Earth saw the return of her excitement over getting to see that place that she could barely contain it. She hummed as she got dressed and was already out and about before Luna came looking for her.

"You're up early Serenity. What prompted this?" the Maurian asked when she finally caught up with the princess. Serenity was practically skipping to the dining hall.

"Good dreams." she said happily, to which Luna merely rolled her eyes. She wasn't sure she even wanted to know.

The Queen was already at the small table by the great windows that overlooked the southern gardens where she and her daughter always took their personal meals. She was preoccupied with the small stack of notes beside her plate on the table and didn't notice Serenity enter.

"Good morning Mother!" she cheerily greeted her mother as she sat down. The Queen returned her smile briefly looking up.

"Good morning Serenity. I see you're quite excited today."

"I suppose." Serenity reached for a night plum and a few slices of sweet melon.

"'You suppose'? Don't you and the girls have plans today?"

Serenity paused, trying to figure out what her mother was talking about. The Queen looked up again.

"They are coming today, are they not? For Nemoralia?"

Nemoralia! She couldn't believe she'd forgotten! Her friends were coming earlier this year specifically to help with things like decorating and planning the party that would happen later. Kemet and her dreams and Atem had gotten her so preoccupied that everything else had slipped her mind.

"Oh…yes they'll be here. In fact I'm sure they'll be here soon, I should hurry."

She finished her breakfast as quickly as she could and excused herself, hurrying out in a flurry of white skirts and trailing blond hair. The Queen watched her go. She had a feeling her daughter's mood had nothing to do with her friends' upcoming visit or the festival.

Ami, Princess of Mercury had already arrived in the courtyard when Serenity finally made her way to it. The others weren't far behind; Rei, Princess of Mars was nearly right behind her and Mina, Princess of Venus came a few moments later. Then Makoto, Princess of Jupiter. They all retreated to their favourite sitting room in the palace where sweets and tea had already been set out for them.

"So Serenity, tell us all about your princely visitor." Mina leaned forward on the table looking expectantly at Serenity, while Ami began pouring tea.

"Well there's nothing much to tell…"

"Oh come on! Your letters were nothing but hints about Endymion and how handsome he was! You made us wait until now to hear about him, you can't possibly have nothing to say now!"

"He was handsome, very tall and proper. And he was a good dancer." Serenity said.

Mina was practically cringing from her vague details. "You said that. But what did he look like? How tall was he? What about the guards who were with him?"

Serenity thought back to Endymion's visit, realizing suddenly how little she had thought of him lately. Or how her enthusiasm over his visit and the prospect of visiting his kingdom one day had disappeared. She couldn't even think of any more about him other than what she had told the girls dwhen she wrote her letters.

"Oh let it go. He probably wasn't all that interesting anyway." Rei waved her off, reaching for a slice of sweet cake.

"How do you know?" Mina challenged her.

"Serenity obviously has nothing further to say about him. He's just an Earth prince, how interesting could he have been anyway? Probably just a huge disappointment."

"Bit of a shame when you think about it." Makoto said. "I would have liked to know more about those guardsmen that were with him."

"Yeah, I bet they were pretty handsome too." Mina added.

"Oh enough about Earth men! Talk about something more interesting."

"Why don't you like Earth Rei?" Ami asked, sipping her tea. Rei shrugged.

"Because everyone knows it's not all that great. They still have to deal with all that darkness and evil. Besides everyone knows the best warriors come from my home."

Makoto snorted. "Speak for yourself. My father's kingsguard would beg to differ."

"Don't you two start." Mina said. "It's too nice a day for arguing. So we're allowed to pick the music this year for the party?"

Serenity nodded. "Mother said it was up to us, although I've always liked the court minstrels. I think everyone will be disappointed if they're replaced. Mitr and Fiona have been writing new songs lately so this would be a wonderful time for them to get to play them for an audience."

"I like that idea. They never get to play anything different at the festivals." Ami smiled.

"Why don't we go see them now?" Mina suggested.

Leaving their tea and sweets they immediately set out to the music hall where the minstrels often played and practiced. Fiona, one of the two vocalists among the minstrels was there with Mitr and Stellan, two of their five instrumentalists already discussing music for the upcoming festival among themselves.

"Hello Princess," Fiona dipped in a curtsy, and beside her the other two bowed. "It's always a pleasure to see you here."

"Hello Fiona, Mitr, Stellan. We came to talk about the songs for Nemoralia. Mother is letting us be in charge for the music this year and I was telling the girls about the new music you've been working on." Serenity said.

"You have impeccable timing Princess; we were just discussing those very things." Mitr said, sitting down again. "We'll have a special guest at the party this year, Tia the cellist is coming this year to perform."

"That's wonderful!" Ami exclaimed. Tia was a famous performer on Mercury, called 'the Maven of the Strings' by many.

"I've heard of her, her performances are said to be pretty magical." Makoto smiled.

"Oh she is. My father invites her to the palace as often as he can but she's always so busy. It's going to be such a treat having her here for the festival."

"Which is why we're revisiting the usual song selections. Some are better suited to her instrument than others." Stellan said. "Since you are all in charge of the music, would you like to hear some of what we've chosen?"

A unified "Yes!" was his answer, and for the next few hours the girls were treated to a mix of new songs and redone old ones. Mitr had an instrument that sounded similar to a cello which they were using to test their selections. Later, when the rest of the minstrels arrived the girls were treated to the full performance. Listening to music soon became dancing to music and they ended up spending most of the day in the music hall. As a result dinner ran late, and afterwards they retreated to Serenity's room for their traditional 'sleep over', which seldom resulted in much sleep at all. The girls always stayed up long into the night, catching up on gossip and each other's lives until they eventually fell asleep from sheer exhaustion. For Serenity it was a perfect end to a perfect day.

For Atem, the feeling ended up quite the opposite.

His day was also much of its usual routine and once again he couldn't be bothered to hide his pleasure at how his plans were progressing. He thought often about the night's coming visit with the Moon princess, all the different places he could show her tonight. More of Waset, or the pyramids, perhaps one of the temples. Perhaps he should let Serenity choose tonight? The day seemed to pass excruciatingly slow and when night had finally come he eagerly retired to his chambers and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Atem's good mood soured, his casual pacing had turned furious. After so many visits he could easily sense now when Serenity slipped into sleep and dreams and he had never been left waiting long. It was well into the night now, the moon having completed over half its journey through the sky and still nothing. What was she doing up there?

If Endymion was up there, gods help him…

Eventually exhaustion began to take its toll on the king, which he stubbornly fought off. He kept up his pacing counting the time and becoming more frustrated at not sensing the princess. A few hours from dawn and finally, there was that brush that was so familiar by now. He immediately went into action trying his best to smother his darker emotions so that she wouldn't see or feel them. As angry and frustrated as he was, he was going to find out the reason for her absence tonight. But when he reached, he did not find a receptive mind. There was a difference in the energy of a person's dreamstate and he had long ago learned how to read them. He knew how to be a presence and knew how to be an undetected observer. Serenity's dreamstate was strangely weaker than he was accustomed to, and slipping in he found the typical jumble of images of one who was deeply asleep. Frustration melted away to concern. He wouldn't push further tonight, if she was exhausted or unwell a visit would only tax her more. Reluctantly he withdrew and spent the last remaining hours of night trying to get some rest himself.

The next day saw a less-than-pleasant king greeting the day. Atem was quiet but his mood was palpable and everyone from nobles to servants to priests gave him a wide berth. All except for Seto, who was assisting the king with today's rituals in Karnak.

"I see per-aa is not his usual self today," Seto did his best to hide a grin as they gathered in the courtyard where the horses were waiting. Atem glared hotly as he passed by.

"Today is not a good day to test my patience, Seto."

"Things not going quite according to plan?"

Atem stopped, hands paused on the saddle of his horse. "I will not warn again."

"I merely meant to offer any aid, if need be."

"I have no need of it."

Atem pulled up easily into the saddle and didn't want for his entourage before kicking his horse off, leaving everyone else to quickly scramble and follow after. Mahado brought his horse up beside Seto's.

"Someone has clearly forgotten the old adage about poking sleeping lions."

"If his plans are backfiring it serves him right. He should be more careful with his meddling and not settle in his victory before it is assured." Seto glanced over to his fellow priest. "How go your plans?"

"They are progressing." Mahado answered. "Per-aa has asked me to spy on Elysion and keep an eye on Endymion. A task I do not quite relish despite its advantages."

"You have no concept of superiority."

"Would you rather handle the task?"

"Sadly I do not share your skill in magics."

"A pity indeed."

They nudged their horses on, weaving through the king's entourage to try and reach their place just behind the king but ahead of the others. He was leading them at an unusually quick pace.

"Just do me one favour today Seto." Mahado said.

"And what would that be?"

"Refrain from poking the sleeping lion, please. Or it might be you he sacrifices today."